Queen's Royal College Graduation Class of 2021 Address

Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
             MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
   Education Towers, No.5 St. Vincent Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad
                          www.moe.gov.tt

Queen’s Royal College Graduation
         Class of 2021

                          Address

                                 By

  Dr the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly
          Minister of Education

                   August 11th, 2021

SALUTATIONS

  - Mrs. Simone Haynes-Noel, School Supervisor

  - Mr. David Simon, Principal of Queen’s Royal College

  - Ms. Hazel Ann Mc Clean, the First Female Student of Queen’s

     Royal College and your feature speaker for today

  - Valedictorian , Isiah Young

  - Teachers

  - Parents

  - Specially Invited Guests

  - Graduating Class of 2021

You did it…..you survived and prospered!...well done and

congratulations…

Academic year 2020/2021 is a historic year in the history of Education

in Trinidad and Tobago. You, this graduating class of 2021, have had

your first, full virtual academic school year. You have worked from

home under the tutelage of your teachers via various online platforms

and have been supervised by your parents. You have had to dig deep to

remain disciplined and focused on your academics while maintaining

balance in your everyday lives. All two hundred and one (201) of you

have weathered the storms and survived this hurdle in your academic

life, and you have come out stronger.

You are now facing a future with no boundaries and so many

possibilities. What an exciting time for this generation of thinkers,

dreamers and innovators! You have crossed one of the biggest hurdles

that the world has had to surmount…you are here…you survived.

Allow me to say a heartfelt thank you to all those who have made this

possible – those who worked in the Ministry of Education, and all the

teachers, administrators and parents. Without their support and

dedication, our students would not be standing here.

I wear three hats as I deliver these remarks to you today. One as the

Education Minister, the other as an educator and the third as a parent. I

want to share three messages with you and ask your indulgence to

allow me to do so.

The first is this. share the care and multiply your blessings. You

survived because of the care, support and dedication of the people in

your life. These may be the two most important circles in your life.

These are the parents, siblings family members, friends, teachers even

your neighbours. Theses are the persons who provide you with the

physical, emotional and psychological support you needed to get you to

today and beyond. You care for them, and they care for you. But there

are many in society who don’t have anyone. I want to challenge you to

give back, volunteer, share your good fortune with those less fortunate.

It not only makes this world a better place, it makes you a better

person when you help others and there are so many in need of care.

The second message I have for you is, don’t be afraid to fly. Never

before has the world experienced the level of technological

advancements than we have seen in the last century and even the last

decade. From augmented reality, 3D printing and robotic exoskeletons

to social media, cloud computing, and AI, our everyday lives have been

radically changed. iPads, smartwatches, fitness trackers, true wireless

earphones, electric cars, virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa changed

how we interact with technology even in our homes. The list of

innovations from this decade alone is a long one and for many who live

in the virtual world of gaming; the two worlds are now one virtual and

physical have coalesced.

Many of the innovations and technologies we take for granted now

were only seen in sci-fi movies and futuristic comic books, but they are

our reality. That could only have happened because someone saw no

boundaries, no boxes and pushed the limits of their imagination. Class

of 2021, I challenge you to push the boundaries of your imagination.

Who would have thought that on July 11, 2021, we would see the

advent of space tourism with, Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company,

successfully launching its founder Richard Branson and five other

crewmembers into suborbital space. I could not say it better than Sir

Richard Branson so I will quote his words, “Dream big and you will be

presented with the opportunity to lead the world on an incredible

adventure. Unless you dream, you're not going to achieve anything.”

The concept of “Dreaming Big” has become almost a cliché, but that

does not make it less profound, effective and critical for progress.

My third and final message is this, Develop positive habits. In his book,

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, says, “a

habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire.” He says,…

“knowledge is the what you do and the why. Skill is the how to do and

desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a

habit in our lives, we have to do all three.” As you move to your next

journey, I challenge you to develop positive habits. Be disciplined and

train yourself. Let your knowledge, skill and desire conflate so that we

normalize positive habits. From daily exercise, to thinking time, to time

management – we will not go far unless we master this.

As I close I wish to congratulate your Principal, Mr. David Simon and his

staff for ensuring that despite the many challenges posed by this new

learning environment, 100% of your students are graduating today.

Through your leadership, they have had the experience of balancing

academics with wellness, mental health with academic progress. I was

very impressed when I heard about the 5th formers participation in the

‘She’s Royal’ programme, a project to increase awareness of the need

to combat gender based violence.

QRC has a long, strong legacy and this class, like many before and many

to come will never let it die. Class of 2021, well done and

congratulations. You have lived your theme for the last year , ‘Survive

and Prosper’ and as you step forward to your next chapter beyond the

frontiers of your imagination I say to you, stay safe and serve well:

share care, don’t be afraid to fly, dream big and develop positive habits.

And for the Star Trek fans among us… live Long and Prosper.

Magnum Est!

Thank you and God Bless.